CITY PARKS. 293 



but in the city parks they look well amid the architectural 

 lines of the surrounding buildings. 



Every small city park should have a widening of the 

 pathway towards the centre, and if possible an open plaza 

 where the children may play and the visitor linger. 

 Architectural adornments may properly be employed in 

 small parks, so long as they do not seriously interfere with 

 the open grass effect. There may be even busts or statues, 

 but especially suitable are drinking fountains, and fountain 

 basins, with great sprays of water. 



The fountain basins may be effectively ornamented with 

 lotuses, water-lilies, and other decorative water-plants. 

 All such adornment of small city squares or greens tends 

 to appropriately enliven and enrich the general appearance 

 of a crowded city, where the effect of everything is arti- 

 ficial, and more or less formal or tedious. 



I should warn those who propose to plant these small 

 city squares, that the surrounding conditions are not primar- 

 ily favorable for the growth of plants. The air is apt to 

 be hot, dry, and dust-laden, if not actually impure. Conse- 

 quently the soil should be thoroughly enriched, and the 

 most vigorous and hardy trees and shrubs employed. Ever- 

 greens seldom do well in large, crowded cities. It is better 

 to plant certain hardy, deciduous trees and shrubs, such as 

 the privet, weigelia, snowball, Spircea opulifolia, American 

 thorn (Cratcegus Crus-galli), philadelphus, American elm, 

 honey-locust, American linden, Norway and sugar maples, 

 and the Oriental plane trees. 



The care of these small city squares is often difficult on 

 account of the crowds that congregate or pass through, and 



